The story itself is property of Alonza; however the idea for it is from Mystitat.
I Told Them
Well, it happened. I always knew it would. Bomba always tried to tell me it wouldn't, but it did. I told her, I told all of the Jellicles, but did they listen to me? No! They just laughed at me - poor, paranoid Demeter!
And now look! Exactly what I said would happen did! Macavity captured me, and stuck me in the backroom of the Warehouse. I told them! I told them Macavity was coming, but they ignored me! Then he appeared, grabbed me, and disappeared, and that was that. I told them it would happen! They could have saved me, but nooooo, of course not!
It was pretty boring for the first few days. Macavity kept me locked in a backroom and didn't have time to visit me. He was too busy keeping the Jellicles away, because they kept trying valiant rescue attempts. I guess they gave up eventually. I could have told them it wouldn't work. In fact I did tell them. "Once the Napoleon of Crime's got you," I said to them all, "He's never going to give you back." I was right, of course, but did they listen? No!
When they had given up, Macavity started to visit me. At first I was afraid of him, but I never tried to escape. There is no escape. Then I started to realize that, if I was never going to leave, I might as well enjoy staying in the Warehouse, and I certainly wasn't enjoying my stay in that backroom, especially since I was so scared, always wondering if Macavity was secretly watching me or if he'd pop up or if he'd just decide to kill me.
So the next time Macavity visited me, I asked him exactly why he had kidnapped me. He said it was because he wanted to make me Warehouse Queen.
Well! Not only did that mean being his mate, but it also meant I'd have to become the enemy of my old friends, the Jellicles.
I had three options. I could say that I would never be Macavity's Queen. If I did, he'd probably kill me, and I was scared of death and pain. I could never give him an answer, but he'd probably get agitated with me and force me to answer anyway, and I was scared of his anger. Or I could say that I would be his Queen. If I did that, I'd have to go against my instinct and make war on the Jellicles, but I wouldn't die. Still though, I was scared of being his mate, and of betraying the Jellicles, for that matter.
I might have said no, even though he would have killed me, had I not remembered why I was in that small backroom in the first place. It was because the Jellicles had not listened to me. I had told them - told them that Macavity wanted me, told them that I needed extra protection, told them that the Junkyard wasn't safe enough, told them that Macavity was coming. They had all laughed at me. One by one, I saw their faces in my head, some looking pitying, some laughing, but all saying the same thing: "Poor, crazy Demeter. She's so paranoid!"
So I said yes.
The next day, Macavity made me his mate and I became Queen of the Warehouse.
Of course, it wasn't really as easy as that. Being a tom's queen entails doing certain things which I didn't enjoy at all, but I had to put up with those certain things or suffer death.
Because in my first few months of being the Queen of the Warehouse, I was still weak. I hadn't changed much from the frightened and wary queen in the Junkyard, except for the fact that I was mated to what I feared.
But then Macavity started teaching me how to be like him, for of course I had to be like him if I was to be the Queen. All he taught me to do was think, "Okay, well, what would the Queen of the Warehouse do if she was someone like… Griddlebone?" She would scare the living daylights out of the other cats, that's what. So that's what I'd have to do, and when I was acting like that, trying to scare people and act evil and mean, I wasn't scared. Of anything. Not of Macavity, not of the Warehouse, not of betraying the Jellicles, not of being frightened. I was not afraid.
So I started to act mean and evil all the time. It was great, not being afraid. And since I was acting mean, it was fun to scare people. For once, I was the frightening, and not the frightened.
Then one day, around five months after I mated Macavity, I realized that I could no longer stop acting mean and evil. I was mean and evil. But, whereas that thought used to scare and disgust me, it didn't anymore because I was evil. And I liked that I was not afraid. Yes, I liked being evil.
When I told Macavity this, he got one of his smug smiles on.
"Now," he said, "We're ready to visit the Junkyard."
We appeared during the Jellicle Ball, right after Skimbleshanks's song. When I say we appeared, I mean it. Macavity just magic-ed us right onto the old tire. We had it staged so that my arm was around Macavity's waist, and he had his arm around my shoulder. We figured that this would surprise the Jellicles the most.
It did surprise them. They just sat like idiots and stared for what must have been a full minute. Then Bombalurina, the old fool, ran towards us, but I gave my best hiss and it stopped her in her tracks.
Macavity gave his evil laugh, the one that used to send shivers of fear down my spine. I smiled coyly, as the Jellicles all sat, absolutely dumbstruck, too dumbstruck even to be afraid. Why, we could have killed Old Deuteronomy right then and there, and the idiotic expressions on their faces wouldn't have changed at all.
"Hello," Macavity began, putting on his most well-groomed accent. "I -"
Munkustrap rudely interrupted. "What in Heavyside are you doing here, Macavity? If you're not going to give us back Demeter, then leave." I sneered at the Sentinel. Had I really once had feelings for him? His fake bravery disgusted me now.
Some of the toms moved around my mate and I, ready to pounce, but Old Deuteronomy told them to stand down. Stupid fool probably thought Macavity was there to bargain for my release.
"Well, if you had not made such a rude interruption," Macavity continued. "I would have told you exactly what I was doing here. But since you did, perhaps I won't tell you."
I gave Macavity a poke in the side. Just because my mate's feelings were hurt didn't mean my fun should be ruined. The Napoleon gave a big sigh and continued.
"Well, I suppose it would be better to tell you. I came here to introduce you to," he paused and smiled. "My mate, Demeter, Queen of the Warehouse." I tried my best to match Macavity's grin.
Bombalurina lost it.
"Demeter, no! He's brainwashed you, Everlasting Cat, he's brainwashed you!" She ran forward and clutched my paw before I, or my mate, had time to react. "You can't do this! Come back!"
I growled, and tore my paw away from hers, thoroughly enjoying the shocked and devastated look I got. Turning to face all the Jellicles, I made my speech.
"I told you this would happen. I told you Macavity was coming to get me, but you didn't listen. You just laughed and called me poor, crazy, paranoid Demeter. Now let it be understood that never again will I be paranoid. From now on, I'm the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the flying squad's despair, for when you reach the scene of crime he and I won't be there!"
Then Macavity magic-ed us back to the Warehouse. How we laughed at the Jellicles and their pitiful, shocked faces!
But we only laughed a little while, for we had business to attend to. It's not easy, scheming and making plans, but we've got a fool proof plan now to take over the Junkyard, and it only took two months to think up, what with my knowledge of the Junkyard and his smarts.
The plan will work, I know it will. After I deliver the kittens. We're going to have to wait until they're born before I can do any invading, unfortunately, and I won't be left out! But we will conquer the Junkyard, and then I will truly be content.
Until then, I'll sit back and enjoy my life, unafraid and evil, knowing that the Junkyard will soon fall. When it happens, I'll laugh at those Jellicles as Macavity takes his place on the tire. I told them it would happen.